Toddler dies after being trapped in hot car for two hours, police say

A 23-month-old boy died Saturday after he was trapped inside a hot car for two hours. The BMW was parked outside a home in Delray Beach, police said.

Delray Beach police responded to the scene on Northwest Fifth Street near Military Trail and Lake Ida Road in the Rainberry Woods neighborhood at about 3:20 p.m.

Dani Moschella, public information officer for Delray Beach Police, said the toddler was unconscious when officers arrived and discovered the front doors of the car were unlocked. They pulled him out and began giving him CPR until Delray Beach Fire Rescue arrived and took him to Bethesda Memorial Hospital.

He died a short time after arriving at the hospital, she said.

The toddler, who would have turned 2 in August, had been playing with other young family members and may have been in the hot car for two hours before his family realized he was missing, Moschella said.

There was one adult in the home, she said. It was unclear how the child got into the car, but he likely got in through the front door, she said.

Detectives are investigating the incident and talking to witnesses to determine how it happened, she said.

“Make sure any vehicle in your driveway is locked, that little kids can't get the keys," Moschella said. "The parents may not even know [a child is] missing.”

A car sitting out in South Florida’s July heat can reach 150 degrees in minutes, police say.

At the little boy's house Saturday evening, the cars of family members and friends lined the street and several groups of people stood outside speaking in hushed tones. Many of them were gathering in the backyard of the home.

One woman, who didn't want to give her name, said the family is Haitian.

Anderson Exantus, a 19-year-old neighbor, said he would often see the little boy playing outside with his mother and siblings.

Many of the neighbors had been talking about his death, he said.

"He was always a jumpy little boy," he said. "He had lots of energy. And his parents treated him really well."